USN middleware apparatus and method for generating information based on data from heterogeneous sensor networks and information service providing system using the same

ABSTRACT

Provided are a Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) middleware apparatus and method for generating an information service based on heterogeneous sensor networks and a system for providing the information service using the same. In the system, a sensor node constructing a sensor network senses environment information, and a sensor network data transmitter collects sensed data sensed by the sensor node in real-time and transmits the collected sensed data in a message form. A USN middleware extracts object and environment information by cleaning, classifying and integrating the message received from the sensor network data transmitter, generates conditional events and context aware information from the extracted object and environment information, and provides the information service to an application program, the application program providing a user with information related to environment where the sensor network observes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 371, ofInternational Application No. PCT/KR2006/005715, filed Dec. 26, 2006,which claimed priority to Korean Application No. 10-2006-0084353, filedSep. 1, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosuresof all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a Ubiquitous Sensor network (USN)middleware apparatus and method for generating information based on datatransmitted from heterogeneous sensor networks and a system forproviding the information service using the same; and, moreparticularly, to a USN middleware apparatus for collecting sensed datafrom sensor nodes of heterogeneous sensor networks, analyzing andprocessing sensed data, e.g., temperature, humidity, pressure, motion,and acceleration, generating events and context aware information, andproviding the information to users through an application program, amethod thereof, and an information service providing system employingthe same.

BACKGROUND ART

When data sensed through sensor networks are used, an applicationprogram must directly process and integrate the sensed data in order toprovide information to a user using a specific sensor network. This wayrequires a lot of manpower and is cost-consuming. In addition, as thenumber and kinds of sensor networks required for generating aninformation service increase, the application program must be modifiedand enlarged to meet a processing capability requirement with respect toa communication scheme, control protocol, functional features, andsensed data processing scheme of each sensor network. Furthermore, whenthe sensed data collected from the same sensor network is simultaneouslyused in one or more application programs, the control and communicationcost of gateways and sensor networks increases, resulting in performancedegradation of the sensor networks and reduction of power resources.

In Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) environment, a plurality of sensornetworks having different purposes and functions are expected to beinstalled or distributed in a wide area. Sensor nodes of each sensornetwork collect environment information in real-time while they areattached to objects, placed in a position, or in motion.

In order for the application program to provide useful informationservice to the user, there is a need for a means that can abstract oneor more heterogeneous sensor networks, generate events and context awareinformation by analyzing sensed data from a corresponding sensornetwork, and provide the generated information to the applicationrapidly and conveniently. However, such a means does not exist atpresent.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

It is, therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide aUbiquitous Sensor Network (USN) middleware apparatus for collectingsensed data from sensor nodes of heterogeneous sensor networks,analyzing and processing sensed data, e.g., temperature, humidity,pressure, motion, and acceleration, generating events and context awareinformation, and providing the information to users through anapplication program, a method thereof, and an information serviceproviding system employing the same.

Technical Solution

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a system for offering an information service based onheterogeneous sensor networks, including: a sensor node constructing asensor network to sense its ambient environment; a sensor network datatransmitter for collecting sensed data sensed by the sensor nodes inreal-time and transmitting the collected sensed data in a message form;and a Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) middleware for extracting objectand environment information by cleaning, classifying and integrating themessage received from the sensor network data transmitter, generatingconditional events, context aware information, circumstantial analysisinformation, and the other relevant knowledge contents from theextracted object and environment information, and providing theinformation service to an application program, the application programproviding a user with information related to environment where thesensor network observes or is installed.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a USN middleware apparatus for offering an information servicebased on heterogeneous sensor networks, including: a sensor networkabstraction unit for extracting sensed data from a message received froma sensor network; a sensor network intelligence unit for extractinglow-level information including the object properties and environmentstate information by performing an analysis operation to clean, classifyand integrate the sensed data extracted by the sensor networkabstraction unit, and generating high-level information includingconditional events, context aware information, and circumstantialanalysis information from the extracted low-level information; and aservice platform management unit for providing the information to theapplication program in a form suitable for the application program.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for generating an information service based onheterogeneous sensor networks in a USN middleware apparatus, includingthe steps of: a) extracting sensed data and monitoring a statemanagement of a sensor network, based on the extracted sensed data; b)performing an analysis operation to clean, classify and integrate theextracted sensed data; c) extracting object and environment informationfrom the analyzed sensed data, and generating context aware informationand circumstantial analysis information based on the extracted objectand environment information; d) generating conditional events accordingto a rule set by an application program; e) scheduling an operationsequence for providing an information service to the applicationprogram; and f) providing the application program with the informationservice obtained according to the scheduled operation sequence, theinformation service including conditional events, context awareinformation, and circumstantial analysis information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the USNmiddleware apparatus processes and manages a large amount of sensed datacollected from the heterogeneous sensor networks between the sensornetwork and the application program, generates the real-time events andcontext aware information related to the environment condition byanalyzing the collected sensed data, and provides the informationservice suitable for the application program. Therefore, a plurality ofsensor networks can be utilized more easily in the USN environment.

In addition, the interface with a plurality of sensor networks can besupported in the present invention. Therefore, information service abouta specific position can be provided by analyzing the sensed data from acorresponding sensor network, while high-level information such ascontext aware information and conditional events about a wide area alsocan be provided by analyzing the sensed data collection obtained fromthe relevant multiple sensor networks.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

According to the present invention, the sensor nodes automaticallycollect the changing environment conditions in real-time and theoperation states of the sensor networks are continuously monitored,thereby increasing the effectiveness and reliability of the informationservice remarkably. The data sensed by one or more heterogeneous sensornetworks having sensor nodes and gateways are processed into theinformation service of a USN middleware apparatus, and the processedinformation service is effectively provided to a plurality ofapplication programs. Therefore, utilization of the information servicebased on the sensor networks can be improved and the application programcan be easily developed and expanded.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objectives and features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following description of the preferredembodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing an information service basedon sensed data collected from heterogeneous sensor networks inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for providing an informationservice based on sensed data transmitted from heterogeneous sensornetworks in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN)middleware apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart describing a method for providing an informationservice based on sensed data transmitted from heterogeneous sensornetworks in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating a USNmiddleware apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR THE INVENTION

Other objectives and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawings, which is set forth hereinafter.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing an information service basedon sensed data transmitted from heterogeneous sensor networks inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system for providing the information servicebased on the heterogeneous sensor networks in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention includes sensor nodes 10, sensornetworks 20, gateways 30, a USN middleware apparatus 40, and applicationprograms 50. The sensor nodes 10 sense environment information, and thesensor network 20 connects the sensor nodes 10 in order to wirelesslytransfer data sensed at the sensor nodes 10 in real-time between thesensor nodes 10. The gateway 30 collects the data sensed by the sensornetwork 20 and transfers the collected data to the USN middlewareapparatus 40. The USN middleware apparatus 40 stores, cleans, classifiesand integrates the sensed data of the heterogeneous sensor networks 20,which are received through the gateways 30, and extracts low-levelinformation, i.e., object properties and environment state information.Then, the USN middleware apparatus 40 provides an information service bygenerating high-level information, i.e., conditional events, contextaware information, and circumstantial analysis information from theextracted low-level information. Using the information from the USNmiddleware apparatus 40 including both the low-level and high-levelinformation, the application program provides the user with informationrelated to the environment where the sensor network 20 observes.

The sensor nodes 10 can sense at least one of ambient temperature,ambient humidity, vibration, light, pressure, and motion. The sensornodes 10 configure the sensor network 20 through a short-range wirelesscommunication and the sensed data of the sensor nodes 10 are collectedat the gateway 30. The gateway 30 transfers the sensed data to the USNmiddleware apparatus 40 through Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) data transmission. Using the sensed data, the USNmiddleware apparatus 40 can monitor the environment observed by thesensor network 20, and control the sensor network 20. In addition, theUSN middleware apparatus processes the sensed data to generate eventsand context aware information desired by the application program 50, andprovides the information to the application program.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the system for providing the informationservice based on sensed data transmitted from heterogeneous sensornetworks in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sensor node 10 includes a sensing unit fordetecting a variety of information about environment such astemperature, humidity, heat, and infrared rays and generating senseddata.

The sensor nodes 10 are appropriately arranged, considering function andperformance of the sensing units 11 and wireless communication range. Atthis point, it should be noted that the sensor nodes 10 must be able totransfer data to the gateway 30 through the wireless communication. Inthe sensor network 20, the number and the structure of the sensor nodes10 can be divergent according to either the given environmentalproperties or the specific purpose of an application.

The gateway 30 includes a sensor network data transmitting unit 31 forreceiving the sensed data, which are sensed in real-time by the sensingunit 11 of each sensor node 10, through the wireless communicationbetween the sensor nodes 10 of the sensor network 20, collecting thereceived sensed data, and transferring the collected sensed data to theUSN middleware apparatus 40 in a message form.

The USN middleware apparatus 40 includes a sensor network abstractionunit 41, a sensor network intelligence unit 42, and a service platformmanagement unit 43. The sensor network abstraction unit 41 extracts thesensed data from the message received from the gateway 30. The sensornetwork intelligence unit 42 extracts the object properties and theenvironment state information by performing an analysis operation toclean, classify and integrate the sensed data extracted by the sensornetwork abstraction unit 41, and generates conditional events, contextaware information, and the other knowledge contents such ascircumstantial analysis information. The service platform managementunit 43 provides the results processed by the sensor networkintelligence unit 42 to the application program 50 in a form suitablefor the application program 50. The processed results include both theextracted information including the object properties and theenvironment state information, and the generated information includingconditional events, context aware information, and circumstantialanalysis information. The service platform management unit 43 can alsoprovide an information selection and interface function based on aplurality of heterogeneous sensor networks, which is required by theapplication program 50.

The application program 50 includes an information service receivingunit 51 for receiving the information from the USN middleware apparatus40.

Hereinafter, operations of the sensor node 10, the sensor network 20,the gateway 30, the USN middleware apparatus 40, and the applicationprogram 50 will be described. The sensor node 10 transfers the datasensed in real-time by the sensing unit 11 to the gateway 30 through thewireless communication of the sensor network 20. The gateway 30 collectsthe sensed data received from the sensor network 20 and transfers thecollected sensed data to the USN middleware apparatus 40 through thesensor network data transmitting unit 31. The sensor network abstractionunit 41 of the USN middleware apparatus 40 extracts the sensed data fromthe message received from the gateway 30. The sensor networkintelligence unit 42 generates conditional events, context awareinformation, and other knowledge contents by performing an analysisoperation to clean, classify and integrate the sensed data extracted bythe sensor network abstraction unit 41. The service platform managementunit 43 provides the results processed by the sensor networkintelligence unit 42 to the information service receiving unit 51 of theapplication program 50 in a form suitable for the application program50. The processed results include the object and environmentinformation, conditional events and context aware information, andcircumstantial analysis information.

In order to provide specific information required by the applicationprogram 50, the sensor network intelligence unit 42 classifies thesensed data collected by the sensor nodes 10 of the sensor network 20and generates conditional events, i.e., notification of a specific errorand alarm of crucial state, and context aware information, i.e.,detection of invasion and the best position for arousing customers'interest. In order to generate more relevant information, the sensornetwork intelligence unit 42 may use a predetermined rule set by theapplication program 50. The service platform management unit 43transfers the information to the application program 50 in a messageform suitable for the application program 50.

Table 1 below shows examples of the sensed data collected by the sensornetwork 20, the sensed data analyzed by the USN middleware apparatus 40,and conditional events and context aware information generated by theUSN middleware apparatus 40.

TABLE 1 Analysis of sensed data and generation Classification ofinformation Description Sensed data #1 15, 15, 14, 14, 12, 11Temperature (° C.) collected by sensor collected every 10 network for anhour minutes Sensed data #2 80, 90 Humidity (%) collected collected bysensor every 30 minutes network for an hour Sensed data 13.5 Averagetemperature for analyzed by USN latest 1 hour middleware apparatusConditional Events Provide alarm (“low Application has already generatedby USN temperature: 13.5”) set a predetermined rule: middleware foraverage temper- alarm is generated to apparatus ature value applicationprogram when average temperature for latest 1 hour is below 14° C.Context aware Provide an imminent USN middleware found the informationreport about the given related rule and contents generated by position(“There is from its internal USN middleware high probability of storage,as following. 1) apparatus problem in the heating There is highprobability machine; Check gas that problem will occur leakage orbreakdown in heating facility when of the electricity”) averagetemperature is below 14° C., current humidity is 80%, and it is night.2) The latest problem occurring in the heating machine was related tothe gas leakage and power supply failure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the USN middleware apparatus in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sensor network abstraction unit 41 includes asensor network interface 411, a sensor network interface protocolstorage 412, and a sensor network monitor 413. The sensor networkinterface 411 extracts the sensed data by referring to a messagetransfer protocol, and the sensor network interface protocol storage 412manages the message transfer protocol. The sensor network monitor 413performs a monitoring operation for a state management of the sensornetwork, based on the data received from the sensor network interface411.

The sensor network intelligence unit 42 includes a sensed data analyzer421, an event processor 422, and a context information manager 423. Thesensed data manager 421 performs an analysis operation to clean,classify and integrate the sensed data processed by the sensor networkabstraction unit 41. The event processor 422 generates the events, i.e.,notification and alarm about a certain condition, according to the ruleset by the application program 50 and manages the generated events. Thecontext information manager 423 senses and generates the context awareinformation based on the analyzed sensed data information as well as thecontext rule in store which are related with the object and environment.

In order to generate the events, i.e., notification and alarm about acertain condition, and the context aware information, the sensor networkintelligence unit 42 may analyze only the sensed data from a singlespecific sensor network, or analyze a combination of sensed data from aplurality of heterogeneous sensor networks, or analyze the sensed datafrom the sensor network in association with predefined legacy data.

The service platform management unit 43 includes a directory servicemanager 431, a service process manager 432, and an application programinterface 433. The directory service manager 431 identifies and searchesresources of the sensor network 20. The service process manager 432schedules and manages an operation order of the sensed data analyzer421, the event processor 422, the context information manager 423, andthe directory service manager 431. The application program interface 433provides the application program 50 with the results processed by thesensor network monitor 413, the sensed data analyzer 421, the eventprocessor 422, the context information manager 423, and the directoryservice manager 431 in the information service form suitable for theapplication program 50.

The service platform management unit 43 may provide the information tothe application program only once, or periodically provide theinformation during a request period of the application program, orprovide the information at a specific time point when a requirement fromthe application program is satisfied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing an informationservice based on sensed data transmitted from heterogeneous sensornetworks in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the sensor nodes 10 of the sensor network20 senses the sensed data related to the environment in step S401. Instep S402, the sensor network 20 transmits the sensed data sensed by thesensor node 10 through the gateway 30 to the USN middleware apparatus 41in a message form.

The USN middleware apparatus 40 extracts the operation state of thesensor network 20 and the sensed data from the message received from thesensor network 20 in step S403, performs an analysis operation to clean,classify and integrate the extracted sensed data in step S404, extractsthe object and environment information S405, and generates the events,i.e., notification and alarm about a certain condition, and the contextaware information, according to the rule set by the application program50 in step S406.

The USN middleware apparatus 40 provides the information, i.e., theevents and the context aware information, to the application program 50in a form suitable for the application program.

Through these procedures, the USN middleware apparatus 40 analyzes andprocesses the information desired by the application program 50 from thesensed data collected by the sensor network 20 and then provides theprocessed information to the application program 50.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating the USNmiddleware apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step S501, the sensor network monitor 413 of thesensor network abstraction unit 41 performs a monitoring operation for astate management of the sensor network based on the sensed dataextracted through the sensor network interface 411.

In step S502, the sensed data analyzer 421 of the sensor networkintelligence unit 42 performs an analysis operation to clean, classifyand integrate the sensed data processed by the sensor networkabstraction unit 41. In step S503, the context information manager 423of the sensor network intelligence unit 42 extracts object andenvironment information from the sensed data analyzed by the sensed dataanalyzer 421, and generates the context aware information, i.e.,situation recognition information, based on the extracted object andenvironment information as well as the as the context rule in storewhich are related with the object and environment. In step S504, theevent processor 422 of the sensor network intelligence unit 42 generatesthe events, i.e., notification and alarm about a certain condition,according to the rule set by the application program 50.

In step S505, the service process manager 432 of the service platformmanagement unit 43 schedules the operation order for providing theinformation to the application program 50 and provides the resultsprocessed based on the scheduled sequence by the sensor network monitor413, the sensed data analyzer 421, the event processor 422, and thecontext information manager 423 through the application programinterface 433 to the application program 50.

The methods in accordance with the embodiments of the present inventioncan be realized as programs and stored in a computer-readable recordingmedium that can execute the programs. Examples of the computer-readablerecording medium include CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disks, hard disks,magneto-optical disks and the like.

The present application contains subject matter related to Korean patentapplication No. 2006-0084353, filed with the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Sep. 1, 2006, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference.

While the present invention has been described with respect to certainpreferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

1. A system for providing an information service based on heterogeneoussensor networks, comprising: a sensor node constructing a sensor networkto sense environment information; a sensor network data transmitter forcollecting sensed data sensed by the sensor in real-time andtransmitting the collected sensed data in a message form; and aUbiquitous Sensor Network (USN) middleware for extracting object andenvironment information by cleaning, classifying and integrating themessage received from the sensor network data transmitter, generatingconditional events, context aware information, and knowledge contentsfrom the extracted object and environment information, and providing theinformation service to an application program, the application programproviding a user with information related to environment where thesensor network is installed.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the ubiquitous sensor network middleware comprises: a sensornetwork abstraction unit for extracting the sensed data from the messagereceived from the sensor network data transmitter; a sensor networkintelligence unit for extracting the object and environment informationby analyzing the sensed data extracted by the sensor network abstractionunit, and generating the conditional events including notification andalarm about a certain condition, and the context aware information fromthe extracted object and environment information; and a service platformmanagement unit for providing the events and the context awareinformation to the application program in a form suitable for theapplication program.
 3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein thesensor network abstraction unit comprises: a sensor network interfacefor extracting the sensed data by referring to a message transferprotocol; a sensor network interface protocol storage for managing arule for the message transfer protocol; and a sensor network monitor formonitoring a state of the sensor network, based on the data receivedfrom the sensor network interface.
 4. The system as recited in claim 3,wherein the sensor network intelligence unit comprises: a sensed dataanalyzer for performing an analysis operation to clean, classify andintegrate the sensed data processed by the sensor network abstractionunit; an event processor for generating the conditional events includingnotification and alarm according to a rule set by the applicationprogram and managing the generated events; and a context informationmanager for sensing and generating the context aware information, basedon the sensed data analyzed by the sensed data analyzer.
 5. The systemas recited in claim 4, wherein the service platform management unitcomprises: a directory service manager for identifying and searchingresources of the sensor network; a service process manager forscheduling and managing an operation sequence of the sensed dataanalyzer, the event processor, the context information manager, and thedirectory service manager in order to obtain a desired informationservice according to the application program; and an application programinterface for providing the application program with the resultsprocessed by the sensor network monitor, the sensed data analyzer, theevent processor, the context information manager, and the directoryservice manager in an information service form suitable for theapplication program.
 6. A Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) middlewareapparatus for generating an information service based on heterogeneoussensor networks, comprising: a sensor network abstraction unit forextracting sensed data from a message received from a sensor network; asensor network intelligence unit for extracting object and environmentinformation by performing an analysis operation to clean, classify andintegrate the sensed data extracted by the sensor network abstractionunit, and generating an event, including notification and alarm, andcontext aware information from the extracted object and environmentinformation; and a service platform management unit for providing theevent and the context aware information to the application program in aform suitable for the application program.
 7. The ubiquitous sensornetwork middleware apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the sensornetwork abstraction unit comprises: a sensor network interface forextracting the sensed data by referring to a message transfer protocol;a sensor network interface protocol storage for managing a rule for themessage transfer protocol; and a sensor network monitor for monitoring astate of the sensor network, based on the data received from the sensornetwork interface.
 8. The ubiquitous sensor network middleware apparatusas recited in claim 7, wherein the sensor network intelligence unitcomprises: a sensed data analyzer for performing an analysis operationto clean, classify and integrate the sensed data processed by the sensornetwork abstraction unit; an event processor for generating the eventincluding the knowledge contents according to a rule set by theapplication program and managing the generated event; and a contextinformation manager for sensing and generating the environment conditioninformation, based on the sensed data analyzed by the sensed dataanalyzer.
 9. The ubiquitous sensor network middleware apparatus asrecited in claim 8, wherein the service platform management unitcomprises: a directory service manager for identifying and searchingresources of the sensor network; a service process manager forscheduling and managing an operation order of the sensed data analyzer,the event processor, the context information manager, and the directoryservice manager in order to obtain a desired information serviceaccording to the application program; and an application programinterface for providing the application program with the resultsprocessed by the sensor network monitor, the sensed data analyzer, theevent processor, the context information manager, and the directoryservice manager in an information service form suitable for theapplication program.
 10. A method for generating an information servicebased on heterogeneous sensor networks in a ubiquitous sensor networkmiddleware apparatus, comprising: extracting sensed data and monitoringa state management of a sensor network, based on the extracted senseddata; performing an analysis operation to clean, classify and integratethe extracted sensed data; extracting object and environment informationfrom the analyzed sensed data, and generating context aware informationbased on the extracted object and environment information; generating anevent including notification event, alarm, and knowledge contentsaccording to a rule set by an application program; scheduling anoperation sequence for providing an information service to theapplication program; and providing the application program with theinformation service obtained according to the scheduled operationsequence, the information service including events and context awareinformation.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein theperforming an analysis operation to clean, classify and integrate theextracted sensed data analyzes sensed data from a specific single sensornetwork, or analyzes sensed data from a plurality of sensor networks, oranalyzes sensed data from the sensor network in association withpredefined legacy data.
 12. The method as recited in claim 10, whereinthe providing the application program with the information serviceobtained according to the scheduled operation sequence, the informationservice including events and context aware information provides theinformation service to the application program only one time, orperiodically provides the information service during a request period ofthe application program, or provides the information service at aspecific time point when a requirement from the application program issatisfied.